JUST GETTING STARTED: After the Pittsburgh Penguins upset the mighty Detroit Red Wings to shock the hockey world just one week ago, well everyone except the Pens and their fans, the Championship parade has come and gone, but the party is just getting started . . .

There’s been Stanley Cup sightings all over the city of Pittsburgh and I can’t wait to discover what the players do with it over the summer . . .

Seriously, how unique is this trophy? Could you imagine Ben Roethlisberger riding his motorcycle through the city streets with the Lombardi Trophy slung over his shoulder like a boombox in the eighties? Or Ryan Howard chillin’ at a Subway waiting for his 5 dollar footlong with the Commissioner’s Trophy on the counter? Or the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy (NBA Finals – betcha didn’t know what it was called) left behind in a Colorado hotel room?

Neither can I . . .

GROUNDED FOR LIFE: Beginning on a 12 year old’s photo sharing site and ending up in an email chain, bloggers and the national media soon got hold of the private photos from Mario Lemieux’s house party. I feel terrible for the young girl that made a mistake, which I am sure she is paying for, and out of respect for the team and their privacy, will not post them myself . . .

But they looked like they had a well deserved BLAST!

Which brings me to some interesting facts, travels and “doings” of the Stanley Cup:

A “Cup Keeper” goes through 24 pairs of white gloves a season

The winner of the Stanley Cup gets 100 Days to do with it what they please – with a chaperone from the Hockey Hall of Fame, of course . . .

Babies have been cradled by the Cup

Champagne, beer, fruitloops and ice cream have all been consumed from the Cup

Pet dogs have even eaten out of it

Scott Neidermayer, with the New Jersey Devils at the time, took the Cup on a helicopter, landing on a mountain in British Columbia, got out and hoisted it at over 9,000 feet high

Brian Rafalski of the Detroit Red Wings auctioned off an hour of time with him and the Cup with the proceeds going to a single mother in Wisconsin, who was battling Cancer

It has been to children’s hospitals, boys and girls clubs and military bases

Several Russian players have brought it back to Moscow, parading the Cup through Red Square

The Cup has also traveled to Alaska and London among many other places, it’s passport is a worldwide database

Baseball stadiums across the country, strip clubs, and Chicago’s famous Billy Goat Tavern, have all seen a glimpse of the three-foot trophy

The Cup has seen its share of TV studios including ER, Monk, Regis & Kelly, The Tonight Show and of course, The Late Show

Teemu Sellanne of the Anaheim Ducks took it back to Finland and dropped by a Sauna, heating up with the Cup for just a few moments

And of course, it’s widely known to have found its way to the bottom of Mario Lemieux’s pool

This year? Maybe it will just take a quick dip. I guess the Stanley Cup deserves to be handled with care by uniformed trustees wearing white gloves after its summer tour of recklessness . . .

For all the marbles on Friday night in Detroit . . . That’s how announcer, Mike Lange of the Pittsburgh Penguins, closed out the game Tuesday night as the Pens held on for a 2-1 win over the Red Wings.

Then he had to change his pants. Well, maybe . . .

Like the rest of Pens fans, who were glued to their seats, or locked in a half standing, almost ready to jump out of their skin position, going to the bathroom wasn’t an option. I’m sure some almost shat themselves over the last minute and a half of frenzied attack action from Detroit that had the majority of the Steel City screaming “NONONONONONONONONO!”

Whew, that was close.

20 blocked shots by the Pittsburgh defense, namely Brooks Orpik and the deepest digger of the night, Rob Scuderi, who played goalie without a mask, turning away the puck three times in the crease as Marc Andre Fleury was forced out of position during the waning seconds of the game when Detroit had six attackers on ice and were giving it all they had to lay claim to Lord Stanley’s Cup right then. Right there. In Pittsburgh. For the second year in a row . . .

Okay, I know that was a bootleg version – but you get the idea . . .

That intense sequence, in which fingernails dug into the arms of husbands and boyfriends across the city, came after a breakaway by Dan Cleary with 90 seconds left. He sped towards the goal with Orpik helplessly chasing, oozing with determination to score, only to be stoned by an uberconfident Marc Andre Fleury, who bounced back from a lackluster performance in Game 5 letting only one puck find its way behind him. The defense and goaltending gave the Penguins an opportunity to go back to Detroit, to have the opportunity to win one game for the Cup.

Like Mike Lange said, “We’ll meet you in the schoolyard, baby, for all the marbles . . .”

IN THE WTF CATEGORY: Dallas Cowboys’ Owner/GM/President/Sideline Gargoyle, Jerry Jones, decided to announce last Thursday that “I did not think [Owens] was disruptive to the team. As a matter of fact, you have a huge percentage of our team — coaches and teammates — that thought his personality was a positive thing.”

Um. Okay. So why did you release Terrell Owens, oh Master of Valley Ranch? Don’t even answer that. It’d be bullshit anyway. And what’s even more disturbing is the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported Jones as saying to a reporter, “Would you beat me up too bad if I brought back Adam?” Yes, as in Adam Pacman Jones. That report has since been denied.

But with his publicity hungry, drama loving tendencies, can we really put anything past Jerry Jones?

A MUST WIN: Ah, no crap Kojak . . . with Lord Stanley 60 minutes away from awarding his treasured Cup to the Red Wings, the Pittsburgh Penguins must rebound from a performance in Game 5, that could only be classified as public humiliation, to stave off the only thing that would feel worse . . . watching Detroit and that damn Marian Hossa hoist the Stanley Cup on their home ice. Again . . .

What needs to be done? Stay on the ice and out of the friggin’ penalty box, number one. Are you kidding me with three 10 minute misconduct penalties and a total of 48 penalty minutes??? Let’s stay focused. Not frustrated.

Will Detroit Take Home The Stanley Cup Tonight Or Will It Come Down To A Game Seven?

Don’t let the return of Datsyuk stop you from playing “your game”, CROSBY. Since according to every single player and coach after the loss, the Pens “didn’t play our game”. Well, it’s time to find it. Now or never.

And what about adding a hungry, fresh legged Petr Sykora back in the lineup? He was instrumental in last year’s Finals and has been a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs. I am sure he is itching to get out there and make a difference. Lastly, and obviously, Marc Andre “The Flower” Fleury has to forget the last game. No excuses as wilting for five goals is unacceptable, but he had no offensive OR defensive help and if he steps on the ice without confidence, he will be slapshotted alive.

DO THE PITSBURGH PIRATES EVEN HAVE A FRANCHISE PLAYER? Sure, second baseman Freddy Sanchez won the National League batting title in 2006 – wait, you didn’t know a Pirate led the league in batting recently? Well, he did – but he never really stuck as “the guy”. And every year that management claims to have signed the “face of the franchise”, they turn around and trade him for minor league prospects and reep the ires of their tired fanbase. Pittsburgh’s once beloved Buccos have become faceless.

Nate McClouth Makes One of His Many Spectacular Plays as a Pirate

Just yesterday the Pirates traded freshly signed, All-Star centerfielder, Nate McClouth, who last year won the first gold glove for a Pirates’ player in ten years, to Atlanta for three prospects. Here are the details. The positive? The move makes way for celebrated centerfielder, Andrew McCuthchen, to play on the big stage. A consolation prize of sorts . . .

This follows the big splash move – well, not for Pittsburgh – of last season where the Pirates sent Jason Bay to the Red Sox to replace Manny Ramirez in Left Field as he escaped as far away as he could from Boston in a three way trade to Los Angeles. What did the Pirates get? Pieces for the “future”. And fans are waiting to see a glimmer of hope from Brandon Moss and Andy LaRoche, who are starting in the big leagues, but haven’t yet delivered in a way that replaces fan favorite, Jason Bay.

Outfielder Brandon Moss has 7 homeruns in the 90 games he’s played in Pittsburgh, is hitting .242 over that span and strikes out once every four at bats. His fielding is not terrible and he’ll pull out a gem every now and again, but he’s not the “amazing” player the management touted he would be. Not yet . . .

After a forgettable start to his Pirates career in 2008, Andy LaRoche is rounding into form so far this year, batting nearly .300 with 13 doubles and making some spectacular plays at the hot corner, not withstanding his terrible 3 error performance in the first two games of the season, of course . . .

With Jason Bay instrumental in the Red Sox playoff run last year and already totaling 16 dingers for Boston this season, Pittsburgh fans feel like they’ve just sucked on a bushel of lemons . . . SOUR.

There might be hope for the future, but the loyal fans that support the once proud participant in the “City of Champions” have been waiting 16 years for a winning team to cheer on.

Not for bobbleheads, fireworks and Styx concerts . . .

Yes, this is only the second year with new management, and President Frank Coonelly and GM Neal Huntington are focusing on the hated “future” during a season where it is imperative that the team gets to at least 81-81 or else they will hold the most dubious distinction of WORST FRANCHISE IN PRO SPORTS via their 17 consecutive losing seasons . . .